This invention relates to an attachment for an appliance for the epilation of the human skin, said appliance being provided with a housing to accommodate a motor for driving at least one clamping device rotary about a first axle for purposes of epilation.
An appliance of this type is known from German Offenlegungsschrift DE 195 21 585 A1. This specification describes an epilation appliance for extracting hairs from the human skin, comprising a rotary cylinder provided with a plurality of clamping devices and received in a housing and driven by a motor. With the epilation appliance in operation, the rotary cylinder executes a rotating movement during which the clamping devices perform a cyclic clamping movement. When the user places the epilation appliance against the skin, the clamping movements cause the hairs to be captured by the clamping devices and extracted.
The known epilation appliance is further provided with devices delivering to the skin a one-time pulse before each epilating action. This pulse produces a pain which the user perceives as less discomforting than the actual pain caused by the epilation.
The design effort involved in providing such devices is considerable. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an appliance which, while involving little effort, enables the user""s perception of pain to be reduced during epilation.
According to the present invention, this object is accomplished in an appliance of the type initially referred to in that the attachment is provided with at least one element for reducing the perception of pain during epilation, which element makes contact with the skin prior to the epilation.
Hence provision is made for an additional attachment to the epilation appliance in which the pain reducing devices are contained. With this arrangement it is not necessary to make the high design effort to integrate these devices into the appliance itself, but it will be sufficient to use the attachment on the unchanged epilation appliance. Obviously, with regard to design implementation and costs thereby incurred, this presents a substantially simpler possibility of reducing the pain of epilation by having suitable pulses precede the epilation.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in that also existing epilation appliances may be provided with the attachment, hence making retrofitting and thus an attendant improvement of existing epilation appliances possible.
Moreover it is possible for the attachment, after use, to be removed from the epilation appliance and cleaned separately. This provides another simplification and improvement with regard to manipulation of the epilation appliance.
In an advantageous aspect of the present invention provision is made for a second axle which is aligned approximately parallel to the first axle and receives the element in a rotary manner. Particularly conveniently, the element is a wheel or a gear or the like which rolls off along the skin ahead of the epilation. The term xe2x80x9cgearsxe2x80x9d as used herein is to be interpreted as including stimulating wheels, toothed disk, profiled disk and any other element suited to stimulate the human skin.
As the user moves the epilation appliance across the skin, the gears will invariably contact the skin ahead of the clamping devices. Stimulation of the skin is effected by the teeth of the gear rolling off along the skin. This stimulating effect occurs prior to the actual epilation performed by the clamping devices. Owing to the stimulation the user""s perception of pain is reduced at the place undergoing stimulation. As a result, the user perceives the subsequent epilation as less painful.
In an advantageous further aspect of the present invention, a plurality of elements are rotatably arranged on the second axle in a spaced, juxtaposed relationship to each other. In this arrangement it is of particular convenience if the plurality of elements are adapted to rotate independently of each other.
Owing to the plurality of independent gears the stimulating effect is further enhanced on those portions of the skin subjected to stimulation, so that overall the pain caused by the subsequent epilation is further reduced.
In another advantageous aspect of the present invention, provision is made for a third axle which is aligned approximately parallel to the first axle and has mounted on it a roller or a shaft or the like for rotation thereon.
The roller operates to stretch the skin tight during the epilation. This makes it easier for the clamping devices to capture the hairs.
In a still further advantageous aspect of the present invention, the mounts of the second and/or third axle are pivotally constructed so as to be able to recede in the direction of the housing. For this arrangement it is particularly convenient if the second and/or third axle is spring loaded such as to project from the housing.
This enables in particular the gears to conform themselves to and follow any curved contour of the skin automatically.
Particularly advantageously, the attachment is a push-fit on the housing and, where provided, is releasably lockable thereon.
It is noted expressly that the present invention may not only be implemented as an attachment but may also be formed as an integral part of the epilation appliance per se. It will be appreciated that by virtue of the simple configuration of the present invention also this embodiment of the invention affords material advantages over known epilation appliances.
Further features, application possibilities and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description of embodiments of the invention illustrated in the Figures of the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that any single feature and any combination of single features described or represented by illustration form the subject-matter of the present invention, irrespective of their summary in the patent claims or their back reference, as well as irrespective of their wording and representation in the description and the drawings, respectively.